2015 Winning Photographers

Michał Koralewski

Koziegłowy, Poland

Michal Koralewski: Picking Up Inspiration Everywhere

You can find a striking moment when you least expect it if your eyes are open to it. Michal Koralewski came across one of those moments as he strolled through a market square in Warsaw and spotted an accordionist playing traditional Polish songs. As soon as he saw the bearded musician, he knew he had to take the photo.

“His face was the first thing I noticed,” Koralewski says, “so expressive and beautiful in it’s own way. It was like an open book. You could almost read his life story from the wrinkles.” He was able to get the image he wanted without disturbing the rich atmosphere by snapping the shot with his iPhone.

Koralewski, who resides in the village of Kozieglowy, close to the old and beautiful Polish city of Poznań, tries to pick up inspiration everywhere he goes. Even when he’s walking the same streets every day, he’ll look for new angles, intriguing lighting or distinct moods. He’s also interested in using his art to illuminate the emotions of people around him.

Although he’s busy with two demanding jobs and three energetic children, he keeps his eyes open and ready to find the next captivating image.

David Craik

Surrey, United Kingdom

David Craik: Shooting Images Never Seen Before

The only restriction on a photographer is the photographer’s own imagination according to David Craik. This philosophy shines through in his photo of Starlings that had come to snatch the crumbs off his table at a coastal café in the United Kingdom.

While a photo of birds may seem ordinary, the compelling image Craik created is astonishingly unique. “After the first bird landed and I saw the shadow on the white wall behind it,” he explained, “I knew this was a great image to be captured. Now it was just a case of operating the iPhone properly and finding the best composition.”

Craik’s experience as a wildlife photographer showed him that you can rarely force a photo to happen. Patience is key and can pay off in enormously rewarding ways. “Some may think I’m mad,” he said, “but one of the most exciting things about wildlife photography is the waiting.”

His inspiration often comes from compositions, shapes, colors, emotions and subjects he hasn’t experienced before. He’s also inspired by the work of other photographers. For him, it’s not about re-creating the same images, but rather imagining an entirely different photo that conveys the feeling he just experienced.

Yvonne Lu

New York, United States

Yvonne Lu: Capturing Moments Along the Journey

It’s all about those unique and sometimes surprising moments along the journey for Yvonne Lu, who captured a quiet yet captivating image of a couple on a train. She noticed the pair as she travelled along the Hudson Valley River on her way home to New York City.

Lu was taken by the beauty of this scene just a few seats away from her own and silently snapped the shot. “The couple,” she explains, “looks like they don’t need anything else in the world. I also found the romantic, vintage feel very entrancing. The two looked as if they could be coming back from a movie set.”

She relies on the iPhone to capture moments like these because it lets her take pictures quietly without disturbing her subjects. She also loves the ability to post her photos to social sites, like Instagram, and share them with the world instantly.

Lu, whose Chinese name is Yichieh, is a Taiwan-born fine arts photographer who currently resides in New York. For more on her work, including intriguing self-portraits and astonishing imagery of pottery from the Chinese Song Dynasty, visit her website.

Ben Schuyler

Seattle, WA United States

1st Place – Abstract

There are times when two disparate images, like this natural setting and the woman in the blue robe, come together to form a beautiful image. Ben Schuyler took this photo as part of a series called Come All Ye Saints.

Born and bred in the Pacific Northwest, Schuyler has reportedly spent his life drinking coffee, hiking the Cascade Mountains and breathing in the salty air of the Puget Sound. He is currently traveling America to document life on the road for his project When the Road is Home, an exploration of mobile living.

John Huet

Manchester, MA United States

2nd Place – Abstract

After seeing this image, it may be surprising to learn that John Huet has focused much of his career photographing athletes. But when you look closely, you can recognize a sort of movement and intensity not unlike the kind that emanates from athletic imagery.

Huet, who currently resides in Massachusetts, has been photographing competitive athletes at all levels for over 25 years. His skill earned him the opportunity to photograph multiple Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Huet is also a successful commercial director who has worked with clients from Nike to the Boston Ballet.

Anbu Jawahar Ra

Karnataka, India

3rd Place – Abstract

Anbu Jawahar is an artist by training, a designer by profession and a photographer by inclination. He started using an analog SLR while in college and maintained his interest in photography over the years. He also has experience with other visual media including video production, digital editing and multi-media design.

Jawahar finds that digital photography offers him a happy marriage of the skills and preferences he’s acquired over the years. The influence of his experience in various media is especially apparent in the composition and post-processing of his photographs.

Sephi Bergerson

Goa, India

1st Place – Animals

After more than 10 years as an advertising and commercial photographer, Sephi Bergerson closed his studio in 2002 and moved to India with his wife and 10-month-old baby girl to follow his dream to be a documentary photographer. Sephi’s work has been featured in books and publications worldwide and has won international acclaim. His most inspiring photo projects address cultural and humanitarian issues from polio and HIV to rural development and education.

Jen Pollack Bianco

Seattle, WA United States

2nd Place – Animals

Jen Pollack Biancois a Seattle-based luxury travel blogger, writer and award-winning travel photographer. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of My Life’s A Trip, a multi-media travel blog. She is passionate about bringing together pop culture, new technology and travel, and enjoys working in the evolving mobile space.

Her travel images have been featured everywhere from the cover of TIME magazine’s #thewireless issue to Apple’s World Gallery. They’ve also appeared on prominent websites such as the Huffington Post, Mashable, Buzzfeed and the Instagram blog.

Christian Frank

Stuttgart, Germany

1st Place – Architecture

Originally from Bavaria, Christian Frank has studied Interior and Products Design in Germany at the Academy of Arts in Stuttgart.

“This photo shows the central library of Stuttgart. You can often find photographers there trying to catch the beautiful light coming through the book shelves. On this evening I was able to bring together the light, inner architecture and the best position.”

Joshua Sarinana

Cambridge, MA United States

2nd Place – Architecture

Joshua Sariñana is a neuroscientist interested in spatial navigation. This interest shines through in his winning image, which draws the eye in with its playful curves, light and shadows. He initially fell in love with photography while traveling through Europe and has kept up his passion ever since.

Sariñana received his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied the genetic basis of contextual memory formation. He is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. While busy with his studies Sariñana is also working to bridge the seemingly disparate fields of Art, Science and Technology.

Richard Bing

Mount Pleasant, SC United States

Originally from Washington D.C., Richard is currently living and working in the Charleston, SC area where he is an architect, He describes himself as a photography enthusiast and enjoys relearning the craft with new tools. Other free-time activities he enjoys involve getting out on the boat in the beautiful waterways surrounding the Charleston area.

On a trip out West, we made it a point to visit a site that a photographer I always admired, Ansel Adams, photographed in 1929. The site was Saint Francis Church at Rachos de Taos, just south of Taos, New Mexico. The massive blocky massing of the authentic adobe structure in the rear of the church caught Ansel Adams’ eye, which he photographed. I found the front compelling. While I cannot begin to compare my photographs with those of Ansel Adams, I could not help thinking of his disciplined and difficult task to photographically record his vision in the early 20th century and compare it to the amazing technology of what the iPhone offers us today.

Jeremy Kern

Washington, DC United States

1st Place – Children

Originally from Rochester, New York, Jeremy Kern is a hobbyist photographer and pediatric hospitalist at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC. He lives in the DC area with his wife, two daughters and their Golden Retriever Abby.

Once a year, Kern travels to a medical facility in rural Haiti with a group through Project MediShare. The group is composed of several physicians along with many nursing and medical students. It offers an educational opportunity to gain a better understanding of medical challenges outside of the United States.

“This particular photo was taken during during my third trip to Haiti in the Central Plateau outside of Thomonde where news of our arrival travels by word of mouth. On this particular day, we were stationed in a cinder block schoolhouse. Gaps in the cinderblocks served as a window and allowed for light and ventilation.

Families were already waiting at the makeshift clinic as we arrived. They will often spend the entire day there. Children who are waiting to be seen were peeking through the window curious to get a glimpse of the foreign doctor teams.

I had been playing with them through the window most of the day and decided to take a picture. I pointed the camera which was at waist-level and snapped. Although it took little planning, I think it is a beautiful image of these inquisitive kids.”

Amy-Leigh Paterson

Cape Town, South Africa

1st Place – Flowers

Amy Paterson is a 23-year-old writer, born and bred in Cape Town, South Africa. She loves her home city and is constantly inspired by its natural beauty and the boundless creativity of the people who live in it.

“I took this photo at Silvermine Nature Reserve while surveying the charred aftermath of the fires that ravaged Cape Town in March of this year. These are proteas, which is our national flower and a type of fynbos that has adapted to fire over millions of years. It’s embraced fire as part of its ecology and many of these species would become extinct without it. Some only release seeds from their cones after fire and others are germinated through smoke stimulation.”

Dorit Kerlekin

Dortmund, Germany

2nd Place – Flowers

Dorit Kerlekin was inspired to become a photographer by her father, who took photos his whole life and gave her his first camera as a birthday present.

“I shot my first black-and-white photographs at the Berlin Wall in 1978. Later I often used a Polaroid camera. In 2008, I discovered the Hipstamatic app for iPhone and began shooting lots of pictures to find my style. Today, I use several different apps for my iPhone photography.

Nicky Ryan

Sydney, NSW Australia

3rd Place – Flowers

Nicky Ryan is a professional freelance photographer based in Sydney, Australia. Her photographic work reflects her experiences from living in different parts of the world, including Asia and Europe. Ryan works to capture the true spirit of her subjects, and has taken photographs for international clients such as Food & Wine, Conde Nast Traveler and Vogue Australia.

“Photography is an absolute passion of mine. I love capturing the beauty in everyday life and the essence of my subjects. It has allowed me to meet incredible people and see amazing things which have made me feel truly grateful.”

Xu Lin

Qing Dao City, China

1st Place – Food

“This photo was taken in the middle of Yangtze River where people dry the fish they catch and transform them into delicious cuisine. Taking pictures is a daily routine to me—like a diary. I hope my pictures can let people see a different world.”

Agata Piskunowicz

Toronto, Canada

2nd Place – Food

“Photography has always been a medium ingrained into everything I do. Today, I live in Toronto where I work as an art director, graphic designer and photographer. It’s a passion that transformed me and the way I see the world.”

Faisal Alateeqi

Kuwait City, Kuwait

2nd Place – Landscape

Faisal Alateeqi from Kuwait, started photography in 2012. Since then he’s been developing his skills while he travels through different destinations. He took his winning image during a trip to New Zealand in Mountcook with his iPhone 5.

Martin Dreyer

Bremen, Germany

3rd Place – Landscape

Born in Hamburg, Martin Dreyer is currently working as an aerospace engineer in Bremen in the northern part of Germany. He spends his free time traveling, hiking, playing soccer and taking photographs.

Fabio Alvarez

Pichincha, Ecuador

1st Place – Lifestyle

Fabio Alvarez is an Ecuadorian based designer and iPhone photographer.

“I was enjoying one of the most perfect afternoons of my life, with my best friend in Rio de Janeiro. We where surprised to see men playing soccer at the beach all day long. I wanted to capture the passion that Brazilians have for that sport with this image.”

Mandy Blake

Kitchener, ON Canada

2nd Place – Lifestyle

Mandy Blake is a documentary lifestyle photographer working in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. When she is not chasing down her two girls to photograph them with her beloved iPhone, she likes to capture images of local families.

“My image was photographed using an iPhone 5C last summer. My eldest daughter was trying to climb up our favorite rock perch in the lake, and I submerged my phone at the moment she was nearing the apex of the rock to capture this frame. I loved the way the light was coming in from above, highlighting her clinging toes and the waves at the surface.”

Yvonne Naughton

La Conner, WA United States

1st Place – Nature

Originally from Wexford, Ireland, Yvonne Naughton made Washington State her home few years ago. In addition to being an “accidental photographer” as she calls herself, she is a part-time pediatrician, aspiring ultra-runner and mom of two busy pre-teens and three energetic hounds.

“The photo was taken on one of my daily morning dog walks on Snee Oosh beach last October. It was a moody Pacific Northwest day with a thick fog lingering on the beach. There had been heavy dew overnight so the spiderwebs which covered rocks, logs and bushes shone like strands of diamonds.

As the dogs chased each other on the beach I captured as many different images as I could and began editing as I sat on a log and finished my coffee. Due to the low light, I converted everything to black and white and focused on making the ‘diamond’ webs the focus of the image.”

Jen Pollack Bianco

Seattle, WA United States

2nd Place – Nature

Jen Pollack Biancois a Seattle-based luxury travel blogger, writer and award-winning travel photographer. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of My Life’s A Trip, a multi-media travel blog.

Her work reflects her expertise in pop culture, new technology and travel and has been featured on the cover of TIME magazine’s thewireless issue, in Apple’s World Gallery and on many prominent websites, including the Huffington Post, Mashable, Buzzfeed and the Instagram blog.

Victoria Ulinske

Vilnius, Lithuania

3rd Place – Nature

Viktorija Ulinske works in aviation industry. She is not a professional photographer but loves traveling and photography.

“I have traveled the world but I have found one of the most beautiful sceneries in my own country. It was a matter of minutes when light, storm clouds, rain and sand all came to one place to present us a moment of most pure form of beauty. As soon as the picture was taken, the clouds disappeared and we were left with clear skies. Location: Nida, Curonian Split, Lithuania.”

Jesse Alkire

Chicago, IL United States

1st Place – News/Events

Jesse Alkire is a freelance ACD/Writer/Art Director in Chicago. He grew up in Colorado writing, drawing, and shooting videos for fun, all of which he now happily does for a living.

“I get inspired creatively when I see something different, something daring, something with a unique point of view. This photo was shot at the Chicago Air and Water Show, which I attend every year (mostly just to take photos). The planes fly so close to the beach that there’s ample opportunity to shoot photos with interesting framing and perspectives. As luck would have it, I actually saw this shot before it happened and was able to frame it up perfectly as the plane completed the loop.”

John Huet

Manchester, MA United States

2nd Place – News/Events

Inspired by the human form and intensity of athletic performance, American photographer John Huet began photographing competitive athletes 25 years ago. Intent on conveying the passion, pride and commitment inherent in all athletes, John has devoted his career to photographing individuals who compete at all levels of sport. Through his photography, he captures the vigour and power of competitors, while also revealing their vulnerability.

Jose Luis Saez Martinez

Valencia, Spain

1st Place – Others

José Luis, an architect living on a beautiful beach town of Spain, has been a converted iPhone photographer since 2011. In his photography, he strives to capture his architectural surroundings with distinctive mediterranean lights.

Elaine Taylor

Leeds, United Kingdom

2nd Place – Others

Elaine Taylor is a graduate with a fine arts degree who fell into university administration management where she has stayed for 20 years. iPhone photography has encouraged her to tap back into her creative side. Her interest in it started a few years ago when she obtained her first iPhone and soon after discovered Instagram.

Emanuel Vargas

West Hartford, CT United States

3rd Place – Others

Emanuel Vargas is a freelance photographer who began his passion for photography as a teenager. He incorporates elements from his graphic design background to create contemporary imagery that pushes boundaries but still maintains a traditional and playful style.

“This shot was taken in an alley while I was traveling in Barcelona, Spain. It was my first time visiting the city and had no idea what to expect during my visit. Wandering around a big city inspires me. I love to capture the sights an emotions from my perspective.”

Andre Malerba

Woodstock, VT United States

1st Place – Panorama

Based in Yangon Myanmar, Andre Malerba is a photographer focused primarily on human rights issues. He specializes in long-term projects, and strives to create strong and straightforward documentary images that are relevant to a wide variety of applications and publishing platforms. His work has appeared in Time.com, The Washington Post and Pro Photographer Magazine among others.

Kaihua Li

New York, NY United States

2nd Place – Panorama

Originally from China, Kaihua Li is a photographer based in New York City. He is a member of Columbia University Photography Society.

“The photo was shot in Gooseneck State Park, Utah last November. I was traveling in Arizona and Southern Utah, which has the most dramatic landscapes in the US. The meandering San Juan River and 1000-feet deep canyon was just breathtaking.”

Lauren Bealer

Allentown, PA United States

3rd Place – Panorama

An insurance company employee by day, Lauren Bealer is a baker, sewer, designer, crafter, and photographer by night.

“Only recently on a vacation to Iceland did I realize just how amazing my iPhone 6 camera is. I had both my iPhone and a DSLR with me in Iceland. I only used my DSLR for detailed HDR photos, and the rest were taken on my iPhone and were phenomenal.”

Brendan O Se

Cork, Ireland

3rd Place – People

Brendan Ó Sé is an award-winning fine art photographer from Cork, Ireland. He is also teaches at University College Cork, Ireland. One of his photographs shot with an iPhone6 has been part of the Apple World Gallery campaign.

Ó Sé tries to see and create in unusual ways using his iPhone or DSLR. The result is unique imagery and striking street photography.

Daniele Colombera

Los Angeles, CA United States

1st Place – Portrait

Born and raised near Venice, Italy, Daniele Colombera currently lives in Los Angeles. He studied Literature and Fine Arts in Rome and works in the movie industry as a digital imaging technician and cinematographer.

“I took this photo behind the scenes of a fashion shoot. I envisioned the image in black and white because I wanted the graphic component of the fern and its shadow to emboss the face of the girl and focus the eye on her ethereal expression without being distracted by the vivid colors of nature surrounding her.”

Alexander Vu

Walnut, CA United States

2nd Place – Portrait

Alexander Vu was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but will soon be making a move to St.Paul, Minnesota. He just completed his senior year with a degree in art.

“I took this portrait last March in Pignon, Haiti. I was on a mission trip with my college and we were working that day to paint the dormitory of an orphanage. Bob, a young 18-year-old man, was a natural leader at the orphanage. When we left for lunch, he took the long roller and began to paint. When we came back, he was still painting.

As we were packing up, I asked him if I could take his photo. There was such kindness in his expression that was so real combined with the passion he had to serve his home.”

Dina Alfasi

Hadera, Israel

3rd Place – Portrait

While Dina Alfasi of Hadera is not a professional photographer, she sees photography as a way of life. She likens it to an additional sense that allows her to tell a story through her eyes and perspective.

“I shoot mostly street scenes and portraits, trying to capture intimate moments, the kind that carry a lot of emotions. Love, pain, fear, joy, no matter what emotion, as long as whoever looks at the picture will truly feel something. That the life of the viewer will be touched or influenced in some way by the photo.”

Heather Goss

Grand Haven, MI United States

1st Place – Seasons

Heather Goss of Grand Haven, MI races bikes and takes many of her photographs while she trains.

“This particular shot was during one of the craziest winters we’ve seen here in Grand Haven in awhile. Over twelve feet of snow for the season and Lake Michigan iced over all the way across to Chicago. I spent a lot of time riding along the frozen shores of Lake MI in the brutal cold to admire the beauty of it all.The Grand Haven pier is one of my stops along the shore.”

Joshua Sarinana

Cambridge, MA United States

2nd Place – Seasons

Joshua Sariñana is a neuroscientist who initially fell in love with photography while traveling through Europe. He has kept up his passion ever since.

Sariñana received his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied the genetic basis of contextual memory formation. He is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. While busy with his studies Sariñana is also working to bridge the seemingly disparate fields of Art, Science and Technology.

Nicky Ryan

Sydney, NSW Australia

3rd Place – Seasons

Nicky Ryan is a professional freelance photographer based in Sydney, Australia. She specializes in Food, Travel, Lifestyle, Portraits and Interiors in both Editorial and Advertising.

“Photography is an absolute passion of mine.I love capturing the beauty in everyday life and the essence of my subjects. It has allowed me to meet incredible people and see amazing things for which I am truly grateful.”

Cindy Buske

Lynnwood, WA United States

1st Place – Still Life

Cindy Buske is a Seattle-based nurse who is passionate about photography. For her, photography is an important creative outlet and counterbalance to the structured world of medicine. Her images have been featured in Snap and Mobiography Magazines, as well as on Hipstography, and in various group exhibitions.

“As a mobile photographer, I love capturing the world around me – literally anything that draws my attention can become a subject. I also have a more figurative side that cherishes the work of creating unique portraiture. My images often enter a dreamy, ethereal world, yet maintain an accessible simplicity.”

Ana Leko

Zagreb, Croatia

2nd Place – Still Life

Born in Croatia and raised in Canada, Ana Leko currently lives with her husband and two daughters in Zagreb, Croatia. A marketing communication manager professionally, Ana likes to shoot, drink coffee and watch cooking reality shows.

“I hadn’t picked up a camera to shoot anything other than snapshots of friends and family since university. Four years ago, I started to shoot almost daily with my iPhone. Photographs which inspire me are not tied to one specific genre or aesthetic, but set a great mood and tell a little story.”

Xu Lin

Qing Dao City, China

3rd Place – Still Life

“This photo was taken in the middle of Yangtze River where people dry the fish they catch and transform them into delicious cuisine. Taking pictures is a daily routine to me—like a diary. I hope my pictures can let people see a different world.”

Robert Radesic

Pula, Croatia

1st Place – Sunset

Robert Radesic is an art director from Istria, a region in the northern Adriatic Coast that extends from Croatia to Slovenia and Italy. Traveling the world and taking photos of the special moments of life is his passion.

“This shot was taken at sunset in the town of Triest, Italy, which is noted for its architecture from the Austrian Empire, and for the bora, a strong north-wind that blows clouds from the sky after a rain.”

Chris Hillary

Melbourne, Australia

2nd Place – Sunset

Current living situation: suitcase. Last year, after a decade in advertising, I quit my job, sold my junk and crossed the Pacific to Chile. Ever since, I’ve driven, hiked, bussed, swum and sailed my way through South and Central America. While on the road, I’ve been studying Photography extramurally in the hope that when I arrive in Amsterdam to start a new life, I can turn this part time passion into a full time one.

Stefanie Hartman

Coconut Creek, FL United States

3rd Place – Sunset

Stefanie Hartman is a special education teacher living in south Florida with her partner and two children.

“I took this photo in August of 2014 on Siesta Key Beach, Florida. The sunset reflecting off the rolling thunderstorms was absolutely brilliant, like walking beneath a giant painting. I had just completed my first triathlon that morning, and I was overcome by the beauty, peacefulness and my own sense of accomplishment.”

Ahmed Saeed

Cairo, Egypt

1st Place – Travel

An Interior Designer/Fine Arts Graduate, Ahmed Saeed is also a hobbyist photographer. He enjoys taking and processing his photos with his iPhone while he travels.

“In December 2014, a friend and I spent a few days in Aswan’s Nubian village Gharb Sehel. It’s a beautiful place with colorful houses, kind warm people and mesmerizing views of the Nile. We were exploring the outskirts of the village when I stumbled upon this one of so many beautiful houses.”

Robert Radesic

Pula, Croatia

2nd Place – Travel

Robert Radesic is an art director from Istria, a region in the northern Adriatic Coast that extends from Croatia to Slovenia and Italy. Traveling the world and taking photos of the special moments of life is his passion.

Ruairidh McGlynn

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

1st Place – Trees

Ruairidh McGlynn is a mobile photographer specializing in landscapes. When not at work, he can often be found exploring the mountains.

“While on a trip to Qatar earlier this year, I met up with a photographer that I’d connected with on Instagram. We ventured out into the desert bordering Saudi Arabia. As the light faded and the mist set in, we passed lone outposts and camels in search of the perfect tree. Faint outlines grabbed our attention. This image was one of a series of unique trees we captured that day. It’s one of those moments I won’t forget.”

Jana Bochet

Zürich, Switzerland

2nd Place – Trees

Born in former Czechoslovakia, Jana Bochet currently lives in Switzerland where she is studying Philosophy and Gender Studies at the University of Zurich. Next to philosophy and sports, photography is her passion. She is currently working on a masters thesis on the ethical aspects of photography.

Mariko Klug

Erding, Germany

3rd Place – Trees

Mariko Klug grew up in Japan and Brazil, but now lives in Erding near Munich with her husband, son and dog. Her iPhone photography works have been displayed at exhibitions in the United States, Canada and Germany.